Ashland University Professor Suggests Establishing Dietary Intake Philosophies for New Year’s Resolutions

Ashland, OH, January 06, 2011 --(PR.com)-- An Ashland University professor suggests that New Year’s resolutions should reflect healthy dietary intake philosophies instead of weight loss resolutions that usually focus on “giving up” certain foods.

“As the New Year begins, now is the time to reflect on past successes as well as failures and develop some healthy philosophies related to dietary intake,” said Dr. David Vanata, Associate Professor of Foods and Nutrition, and Director of the dietetics program at Ashland University. “Developing guiding philosophies related to food will assist those interested in making some positive changes that last much longer than the typical New Year’s resolutions.”

Vanata said that while there are numerous philosophies or strategies associated with healthy eating, increasing your awareness about these areas is the first phase. He listed several dietary suggestions to get people started on this path toward “healthy eating.”

1) Think Fish
Eat fish at least “two times a week.” There are many health benefits associated with incorporating fish into a diet. Fish are good sources of high-quality protein and are the best dietary sources of certain essential fatty acids, especially EPA and DHA. Besides lowering the risks for high blood pressure, stroke and heart disease, there is evidence that eating fish can help improve both mood (make you feel happier) and cognitive ability (thinking and learning).

Student-athletes might be interested to know that fish can help with muscle recovery after a strenuous workout, practice or game. Not all fish are created equal; some are more nutritious than others. While many people have eaten or do eat tuna fish, what is called the “gateway” fish to becoming a fish consumer, the best fish choices, those containing the highest amounts of beneficial fats that are commonly available, include: rainbow trout, Atlantic salmon and Coho salmon. Those fish with the least healthful benefits include: tilapia, and catfish. Fish sticks don’t count, and besides they are generally produced from Pollock, whitefish, or cod, which are not as nutritious as trout or salmon.

2) Got Skim?
When drinking milk, chose skim milk. There is relatively new evidence that many sources of whole milk, as well as 2 percent milk, are higher in certain hormones, such as progesterone and estrogen, than skim milk. This is due to obtaining the milk from cows during their later stages of milk production. High intake levels of these hormones may increase the risk for certain forms of cancers among some individuals, as well as potentially being counter- productive for muscle development among male athletes.

3) Nutrients Come from Foods, not Pills
Nutrition, seldom if ever, comes in the form of a pill. As individuals’ lives become busier and more hectic, it is easy to fall into the trap of popping pills or supplements instead of eating a varied and balanced diet. Many individuals opt to take a multivitamin as a form of ‘nutritional insurance.”

Variety and moderation are two terms that are poorly understood and many times are distorted in meaning to justify an individual’s unbalanced or preferred dietary choices or habits. What is moderate to one person may seem excessive to another. One way to increase the variety among dietary intake is to focus on the concept of color. Look at your plate or the foods that are being eaten, how colorful is the plate? Does it exist of reds, yellows, greens, purples, oranges, or is it drab with only whites and browns? Increasing color will lend itself to increasing variety which will provide people with many of the essential nutrients not found in multivitamins or pills. Unfortunately, the colorful variety of M&Ms and gummy bears don’t count.

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